Chapter 1476.2

Illyna had been going around telling everyone the good news, which was completely unlike her usual self.

Si-Woo and Elysia, who had been enjoying a date together, were genuinely happy for her as if it were their own good news. “Congratulations.”

“Congratulations!”

“Hey, Seung-Hyun. Doesn't being pregnant mean your belly gets like this?”

“You're too young to worry about that. Congratulations, Grand Duchess. That's wonderful news.”

Then there were Davey's crafting slave Grape-flavored Cat Tower Maga, the Yun siblings, and many others. Illyna was so overwhelmed with joy that she bragged about it not only to everyone she knew on Earth, but also to people she knew in other worlds.

There was also one more person who congratulated her on her pregnancy.

Davey's friend, Al Hajat. He gave her an earful when she called.

- Congratulations, Grand Duchess. This truly is wonderful news. I can't simply congratulate you with words and no gift. I'll prepare something grand for you soon.

“Ah. No, you really don't have to...”

- No. This isn't just a gift, think of it as a bribe. I want to get on the child's good side for the future. Hahaha.

It was a little overwhelming, but Al Hajat celebrated as if it were his own good news. He called it a bribe, but he was a much more warmhearted man than one might expect.

Illyna ended the call with a smile.

“Baby, Mommy's waiting for you. Grow up nice and strong so you can come meet Mommy, okay?” She stroked her still-flat stomach with a bright smile. “Oh, right! Once I give birth, I probably won't be able to go back to how I was before...”

Illyna pondered as she stroked her lower abdomen, then her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh! What should we call the baby before it's born[1]?”

Hyun-Ah responded, “Hmm. It's still a little early, so why don't we wait a bit first?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Sitting in the waiting area and browsing through different categories of baby products, Illyna gazed at the adorable items with delight. “They're so cute...”

An employee walked up to offer, “Ma'am, would you like me to bring out some more samples?”

“Yes, please.”

“Of course.”

In the end, Illyna carefully picked out each item as if she were shopping for her own clothes and only turned to leave once she was satisfied. Still, considering the amount of wealth Davey possessed, it certainly felt like she'd spent far too little. It was hard to tell whether they should praise the employee for convincing the incredibly frugal Illyna to buy that much, or praise Illyna herself for showing such remarkable restraint.

“Hey, Sis! We came all this way ready to splurge, so don't you think you could've spent a little more?”

“Well, it’s not good to play favorites. I was the same way when buying things for the others. I don't want to give this child special treatment just because I'm the one giving birth to them.”

She really was a good person. Hyun-Ah wondered if she could ever do the same, and gave a bitter smile.

Humming happily with both hands full of shopping bags, Illyna prepared to return to Tionis.

Returning home, Hyun-Ah called out, “Hey, Yeon-Hee.”

“Hmm?”

“Maybe I should get married too. Seeing my idiot brother reincarnate and have a kid before me makes me feel like I'm becoming an old maid.”

Of course, considering her age, she was still incredibly young.

Thud.

The fruit in Yeon-Hee's hand fell to the floor with a heavy thump.

* * *

Perhaps Illyna had been a little too open about her pregnancy. Before long, the news began spreading without anyone quite knowing how. Normally, it would've been the kind of news people simply acknowledged and moved on from.

However, Illyna had once been incredibly popular in the United States, and still had plenty of fans, so the news caused quite the stir.

Meanwhile, Davey pulled out every record and note he had made while examining her body. Even with his absolute memory, which let him recall every last number, he couldn't afford to overlook even the slightest error.

“This is driving me crazy. If it's really a phantom pregnancy, symptoms should definitely start showing up soon.”

If Illyna caught on, the fallout wouldn't be something he could easily handle.

Whether it was actually a phantom pregnancy didn't matter anymore. What mattered was making absolutely sure she became pregnant within the following month.

Yuria approached and handed something to him. “Here you go, Benefactor. Mix this into her tea and make her drink it—it should make conception possible.”

“You seriously think that makes sense? What the hell did you make?”

“It was extremely difficult to make. Of course, the ingredients were quite expensive as well...”

“Fine, I'll give you the budget,” Davey said, waving it off with a hand before turning to the item. “Are you sure it’ll work?”

“It'll only work because you're the one using it, Benefactor. So, the results will depend on what you do.”

“That's good enough.” He added a single drop of the plague extract to the tea he had prepared for Illyna. “This isn't bad for her or anything, is it?”

“Hmm. She may feel a little tired, but it shouldn't cause any serious problems. However, it doesn't work instantly, so it may take some time.”

He cautiously asked, “What if she's actually pregnant already?”

“Then there's no problem at all. If the baby has already settled in, it won't cause any changes.”

There were countless couples in the world who desperately wanted children. He began to think that if they used the item properly, they might be able to spare them that heartache. But he quickly pushed the idea aside. If he had to use magic to guide her flow of mana, then it was practically useless for anyone else.

“Good work,” he complimented.

“Benefactor. Just in case, make sure you're in the best possible condition when the time comes.”

“Got it.”

After Yuria left, he took a moment to steady himself, then called, “Perserque. Aeria.”

“I've cast a blessing spell for now, but I doubt it'll have much of an effect.”

It was a blessing magic circle that people claimed to work despite no real proof, like eating black beans to prevent hair loss.

Also...

“We received help from the beastfolk and set up a ritual circle. In their homeland, newlyweds traditionally use it on their wedding night as a superstition to help them conceive...”

Davey nodded. “That's good enough.”

Willow held out something that looked like a piece of candy infused with her power. “Dad. This is kind of awkward to say as your daughter... but keep this in your mouth and pass it to her.”

Davey let out a dry laugh as he stared at the little hard candy in her hand. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Good luck.”

Everyone except Illyna was taking part in the operation.

“Davey! I'm back!!” Later that evening, the door flew open, and Illyna beamed at him with both hands full of shopping bags. “Hehe. Hehehe!”

She practically skipped over, set down the bags, and excitedly began showing him the baby items she bought. “These are mittens for our baby to wear after they're born. These are socks. And these are their cute little clothes.”

Seeing how carefully she had chosen everything, he could tell how much thought she had put into each item, and he gulped before saying, “Illyna.”

“Hmm?”

“It's late, so you must be tired, right? How about we spend some time together tonight?”

Her face immediately turned bright red at his subtle hint. “Uh... Huh? But I have a baby in my belly... I heard we shouldn't do that during the early stages of pregnancy.”

“It's fine,” he assured her. “I can protect the baby without any problems. Actually, surrounding you with divine power will be good for your body too.”

He lied through his teeth, but Illyna didn't know much about magic, so she quickly fell for it. He continued, “Here, drink this tea. I made it for you.”

She was a bit stunned. “What's going on? Why are you being so nice to me?”

“What do you mean, why? Pregnant women are queens. Just let everyone pamper you for now.”

“Hehe. Hehehe.” She was so happy that she couldn't stop giggling. “Then I'll enjoy it.”

At the same time, he couldn't help but worry about how devastated she would be if she found out the pregnancy wasn't real, and how hurt she would be.

He had decided not to believe her previous claims that she didn't feel the need to have a child anymore. After the good news, she already looked every bit as happy as Perserque had when she had carried Abel.

He desperately hoped there really was a baby inside her, but, unfortunately, he didn't think the chances were very high.

“Aaah. This tastes even better than usual!” Her cheeks flushed as she looked up at him. When he gave the signal, Perserque, who had been secretly watching the situation, nodded and quietly slipped away as she sent a mental message over.

[Davey. She’s sensitive enough to notice what the magic circle really is, so don't let her attention wander.]

[Don't worry, Per, I’ve got this.]

He then scooped Illyna into his arms and swallowed hard.

‘Have I ever been this nervous before?’

If he couldn't make it a reality soon, all they would have left was a tangled web of lies.

He squeezed Illyna and playfully told her, “You're in for it tonight.”

“Hehehe.”

Looking at her blissful smile made him want to scream inside.

She suddenly gasped, “Oh! The baby just kicked!”

“Hey, what kick this early? Don't start talking nonsense.”

“Hehe. I guess I imagined it. It's because I love our baby so much. Oh, right, Davey.” Still in his arms as he carried her toward the bed, she asked him in a playful, affectionate voice, “What should we call the baby before they're born?”

He smiled brightly. “How about Desiree?”

“That sounds awfully girly,” she told him with a smile. “Do you want a daughter?”

“Prenatal nicknames don't work like that.”

‘I’ve never prayed this hard in my life before... Please, be born to us as a miracle.’

Right now, Davey couldn't carelessly interfere with her body. If there really was a baby and it had developed to a certain point, he could examine it using divine power or mana. Unfortunately, her body was unconsciously blocking any external probing.

Even creating a gap in those defenses could tip her off, so he had no choice but to be careful. If she caught him, she could easily misunderstand and think he was trying to hurt the baby, or become suspicious of what else he was doing.

Besides, there was still a chance she really was pregnant, so he absolutely had to avoid putting unnecessary stress on her body.

Davey was under immense stress, since he had never dealt with anything like it before. He also had to absolutely make sure her attention didn't wander anywhere else—even if that meant he had to turn into a complete beast for her.

* * *

The next morning, Davey’s eyes opened as soon as dawn broke. Leaving behind the sleeping Illyna, who still had her arms wrapped protectively around herself, he got out of bed.

“How’d it go?” Perserque asked.

“I don't know. Everything worked as planned, and I checked whenever her defenses opened up, but... her symptoms and physical changes are exactly the same as a woman who successfully conceived. I can't push my senses any deeper to confirm it.”

If she really was pregnant and something went wrong because he poked around too much while examining her, it’d all be over.

“Then...”

“Yeah. Let's watch her a little longer. When was her cycle supposed to start?”

At his question, one of the maids quietly answered, “Grand Duchess Illyna’s cycle has already passed. There haven't been any changes at all. It happens occasionally, so she didn't find it suspicious.”

“I really hope everything we've done turns out to have been completely unnecessary,” Perserque emotionally remarked. She clearly hoped from the bottom of her heart that Illyna's body had changed over time, and she had miraculously managed to conceive after all.

Using the clues he gathered while focusing on Illyna the previous night, Davey came up with a hypothesis. “Maybe... it really is real.”

“Really?”

“I still don't know. We have time, so let's wait and see.”

He felt like the stress was killing him. Just then, Darian toddled over from the picture book he had been looking at and climbed into his arms.

“Dada! Darian get little sibling?”

“Yeah, Darian. You will.”

Curiosity and excitement filled the little boy’s eyes. “Sibling! Darian protect!”

His speech was still clumsy, but he had gotten pretty good at talking.

Smiling at how adorable he was, Davey stroked his head. Afterward, Darian crawled over to Abel to brag about the news.

At least Davey could relax knowing Darian wasn't going to get jealous about having a younger sibling.

1. In Korean culture, it is customary to give an unborn child a name to be used to refer to them while they’re still in the womb, separate from the given name at birth. It is called the ?? (taemyung) or fetus name. ☜